Bad to ride?

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In Australia, Melbourne there are roads that have a lane for cyclists and a road that doesn't. Is it not good to ride on roads that dosen't have a bike lane? Can anyone name any long roads with a continous bike lane?

probably the best bet for you would be the Yarra Blvd. It's a bit rough, but heaps of people ride it, so it can't be too bad. I usually drop my tyre pressure a little. It's handy having an uninterrupted run for 6 or 7km so close to the city, and it's always dead quiet, even in peak traffic times

Apart from that, parts of Ivanhoe, East Ivanhoe, Alpington and Eaglemont are my favourite inner city suburbs to ride around. I used to ride from East Bentleigh to La Trobe Uni every day, so I found some nice spots around there with some good little hills; not long, but steep enough to give you a workout.

Livingstone and Oriel Rds aren't too bad. The whole area near the Ivanhoe Girls Grammar is good. Parts of Lower and Upper Heidelberg Rds are also good, as are the Blvd in Ivanhoe, that runs between Heidelberg Rd and Burke.

I used to do an anti-clockwise loop on Kilby Rd, Burke Rd, the Blvd (just past the Fwy), Lower Heidelberg Rd, Chandler Hwy, EarlSt, then around again

probably the best bet for you would be the Yarra Blvd. It's a bit rough, but heaps of people ride it, so it can't be too bad. I usually drop my tyre pressure a little. It's handy having an uninterrupted run for 6 or 7km so close to the city, and it's always dead quiet, even in peak traffic times

Apart from that, parts of Ivanhoe, East Ivanhoe, Alpington and Eaglemont are my favourite inner city suburbs to ride around. I used to ride from East Bentleigh to La Trobe Uni every day, so I found some nice spots around there with some good little hills; not long, but steep enough to give you a workout.

Livingstone and Oriel Rds aren't too bad. The whole area near the Ivanhoe Girls Grammar is good. Parts of Lower and Upper Heidelberg Rds are also good, as are the Blvd in Ivanhoe, that runs between Heidelberg Rd and Burke.

I used to do an anti-clockwise loop on Kilby Rd, Burke Rd, the Blvd (just past the Fwy), Lower Heidelberg Rd, Chandler Hwy, EarlSt, then around again I will try the loop in Kew as I live there, infact he loop passes my house:D

The Yarra Bvd is too rough at the moment. The thought of getting my tires popped was always on my mind when I rode it. The other thing is you have to change lanes after the bridge area when heading to the city as there is a section where the road is too narrorw.

I like to try the Blvd in Ivanhoe some time.

Do you think it is bad to ride on roads without a bike lane? It makes me uncomfortable at times.

I will try the loop in Kew as I live there, infact he loop passes my house:D

The Yarra Bvd is too rough at the moment. The thought of getting my tires popped was always on my mind when I rode it. The other thing is you have to change lanes after the bridge area when heading to the city as there is a section where the road is too narrorw.

I like to try the Blvd in Ivanhoe some time.

Do you think it is bad to ride on roads without a bike lane? It makes me uncomfortable at times.
It's best to ride on roads with no bike lane. Then no idiot fossil fuel burner is going to try to mow you down because you're not using the bike lane. In Sydney, bike lanes on road almost always contain parked cars or are swept by the doors of parked cars. Or they are led onto the footpath at every roundabout! Perhaps the deal is better in Melbourne.

Do you think it is bad to ride on roads without a bike lane? It makes me uncomfortable at times.not if the road is quiet enough, and/or if there are 2 lanes both ways with little traffic


By the way, Balwyn Rd: that's another Rd with a long bike lane, but it also has several traffic lights

It's best to ride on roads with no bike lane. Then no idiot fossil fuel burner is going to try to mow you down because you're not using the bike lane. In Sydney, bike lanes on road almost always contain parked cars or are swept by the doors of parked cars. Or they are led onto the footpath at every roundabout!
+1 for arty's comments.

I was at Forster on the weekend. There's a roundabout southbound along Lakes Way where it peters out to a strip of tarmac six inches wide, at which point you realise you should have taken the unsigned exit to the footpath 20 metres back and you're about to get sidewiped by the moron in the furniture van.

At least they seem to have learned. :cool: The two new ones they've built as part of the shopping centre redevelopment have a cycle lane that runs all the way through the intersection.

I hate shared cycleways where you have to share the route with pedestrians and their unleashed dogs. They're each about as smart as sheep. Scary. :mad: You also have the risk of some motorist collecting you for a hood ornament whenever you cross intersections. I don't use 'em.

I have the luck to live in the country rather than melbourne so i cannot say to much about the specific roads. I will make some general points though assuming you are a road cyclist rather than mountain bike.

Shared pathways are no good - going to fast for pedestrians - being clipped in makes it difficult to avoid unexpected obstacles if you have to stop.

Bike lanes on side of road - pretty crap idea for road bike if you ask me. Frequently filled with parked cars. To filled with glass and crap to ride a road bike on them. Other cars get upset if you don't use them (i have been honked by a car going by even though the road was a divided road with 2 lanes both ways and no other cars in sight). I normally ride on the white line as a comprimise.

Worst of all - any road that is busy and has no shoulder to tide on. Even when i am driving it is difficult to give enough room to the cyslist in this situation. Avoid these roads if possible.

Thankly i don't really have these problems.

I have the luck to live in the country rather than melbourne so i cannot say to much about the specific roads. I will make some general points though assuming you are a road cyclist rather than mountain bike.

Shared pathways are no good - going to fast for pedestrians - being clipped in makes it difficult to avoid unexpected obstacles if you have to stop.

Bike lanes on side of road - pretty crap idea for road bike if you ask me. Frequently filled with parked cars. To filled with glass and crap to ride a road bike on them. Other cars get upset if you don't use them (i have been honked by a car going by even though the road was a divided road with 2 lanes both ways and no other cars in sight). I normally ride on the white line as a comprimise.

Worst of all - any road that is busy and has no shoulder to tide on. Even when i am driving it is difficult to give enough room to the cyslist in this situation. Avoid these roads if possible.

Thankly i don't really have these problems.
What do you mean by no shoulder to tide on?

You're right about shared paths ways. They are horible and accidents may be more frequent because of sharp corners.

probably the best bet for you would be the Yarra Blvd. It's a bit rough, but heaps of people ride it, so it can't be too bad. I usually drop my tyre pressure a little. It's handy having an uninterrupted run for 6 or 7km so close to the city, and it's always dead quiet, even in peak traffic times

Apart from that, parts of Ivanhoe, East Ivanhoe, Alpington and Eaglemont are my favourite inner city suburbs to ride around. I used to ride from East Bentleigh to La Trobe Uni every day, so I found some nice spots around there with some good little hills; not long, but steep enough to give you a workout.

Livingstone and Oriel Rds aren't too bad. The whole area near the Ivanhoe Girls Grammar is good. Parts of Lower and Upper Heidelberg Rds are also good, as are the Blvd in Ivanhoe, that runs between Heidelberg Rd and Burke.

I used to do an anti-clockwise loop on Kilby Rd, Burke Rd, the Blvd (just past the Fwy), Lower Heidelberg Rd, Chandler Hwy, EarlSt, then around again
With the kew loop, going from Lower Heidelberg Rd to Chandler Hwy involves crossing a bridge that has no room for cyclists. In order to cross it, one needs to use the path under the bridge on the other side of the road. Much too inconvinient. How do you resolve the matter?

Further down south, I ride the Barwon Bike Path (a.k.a. "Barwon Bike-O-Bahn") to bypass busy/congested lead-in roads to Geelong, then ride wide streets with bike lanes (pathetic efforts as they are quite often) to finally drop into town. The Bike-O-Bahn is a bit narrow and a trifle rough in places and has the same pedestrian and dog hazards as the Yarra Blvd bike path, which I rode for many years (North Melbourne-Hawthorn East) when I lived in Melbourne.

The Copenhagen-style lanes of Swanston Street in Melbourne are a gem and have won a lot of praise from cyclists and some brickbats from (predictably) taxi drivers and pedestrians.